Films written and directed by women deliver a bigger return on investment than those made by men, according to an analysis of cinema releases over 30 years.
In its study of 200,000 films released between 1994 and 2023, Frontiers in Communication found that movies in which women had both directing and screenwriting credits were on average 25% more profitable than male-only productions.
Those written, but not directed, by women had a 34% higher median profit.
However, every one of the 44 films that had the top 1% production budgets was directed by a man.
Five of these had a female screenwriter and had a median profit about £85.3m higher than those written and directed by men.
In the top 5% of budgets, the median profit of films with a woman screenwriter and male director was £420m, about £65m higher than the male-only median.
Among the highest 10% of budgets, films written by women grossed a median of £342m, about £101m more than male-only productions.
Notable female-led hit movies in recent years include Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet (co-written by the book’s author, Maggie O’Farrell) and Greta Gerwig’s Barbie (co-written with her husband Noah Baumbach).
Recent release The Devil Wears Prada 2 [pictured] was written by Aline Brosh McKenna and directed by David Frankel.
Women in Film & TV chief executive Katie Bailiff said the research highlights “the disconnect between the proven success of films involving women and the industry’s continued failure to invest in them at the highest levels”.
She added: “The findings reinforce what many already know: investing in women is not only the right thing to do; it makes business sense. The question is no longer whether women can deliver creatively and commercially, but why the industry continues to hold them back.”
The report’s author, Anja Huwiler, said: “The extreme uncertainty of film financing can make familiar people and established ways of working feel safer, especially when decision-makers are risk or loss-averse. This can reinforce the status quo even when the financial evidence points elsewhere.”
